'Enclosures to Bengal Secret Letter, dated 17th September 1808' [‎168v] (341/840)

Content

The volume consists of correspondence, memoranda, journal extracts, and intelligence reports relating to Brigadier-General John Malcolm’s 1808 mission to Persia [Iran] as East India Company Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary A diplomatic representative who ranks below an ambassador. The term can be shortened to 'envoy'. . The papers are enclosures to a packet sent to the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. of the East India Company, in London, from the Secret Department of the Government of Bengal From c. 1758-1858, the East India Company's administration in Bengal. From 1773-1833, the most senior of the three subdivisions of India, also known as the Supreme Government of India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. , in Calcutta [Kolkata], dated 17 September 1808.

There are twenty principal papers within the volume. These mostly comprise correspondence between Malcolm and the Governor-General of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of Fort William, Lord Minto [Gilbert Elliot-Murray Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto], or his Chief Secretary, Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, but letters from Minto to Sir Harford Jones, HM Ambassador to Persia, and a minute of the Governor-General's are also included.

Matters covered by the volume include:

• Malcolm’s journey to Persia, via Muscat, and his proceedings with the Government of Muscat
• Malcolm’s arrival at Abusheher [Bushehr; also spelled Bushire and Busheer in this volume] and his reception by Persian officials
• Captain Charles Pasley’s deputation to Sherauz [Shiraz], including instructions given to him by Malcolm, extracts from his journals while there, and correspondence with Jaafer Alli Khan [Ja‘far ‘Alī Khān; various spellings in this volume], ‘Native Agent’ in Shiraz
• Progress and status of the French Embassy in Persia under General Gardanne [Claude Matthieu, Count Gardane]
• The threat of invasion of India by either France or Russia, and Britain’s options for responding to such a threat
• Russian military operations in Georgia and along Persia’s northern frontier
• Malcolm's plan for the Island of Kharrack [Kharg] to become a forward station in defence of the British Empire in India.

Some of the principal papers include their own enclosures. These consist of letters to and from agents and officials in Persia and the wider region, including: Nusir Oolla Khan [Naṣr Allāh Khān; various spellings in this volume], Vizier to Prince Governor A Prince of the Royal line who also acted as Governor of a large Iranian province during the Qājār period (1794-1925). of Shiraz; Mohummud Nubbee Khan [Muḥammad Nabī Khān Shirāzī; various spellings in this volume], Vizier of Fars; and Claudius Rich, British Resident at Bagdad [Baghdad].

The French language material comprises an intercepted letter from General Gardanne to the Governor of the Isle de France [Mauritius] (General Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen), dated Teheraun [Tehran], 2 May 1808.

Extent and format

1 volume (416 folios)

Arrangement

The volume is arranged in chronological order, from the front to the rear.

At the beginning of the volume (folios 3-4) is a list of contents, providing details of the enclosures contained within, including enclosure number (1-20), correspondents, date, subject, and page number (referring to the original pagination).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 418; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Pagination: the volume also contains an original pagination sequence.

Written in

English and French in Latin script

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